The JPS Health Network Health Services Psychology Internship Program is a clinical, pre-doctoral training program located in Fort Worth, Texas. JPS is a safety-net hospital serving the uninsured and marginalized communities of Tarrant County, as well as many insured patient groups who seek our specialized services. Within this context, we offer a 12-month generalist internship training experience, based on the practitioner-scholar model, designed to foster the development of confident, skilled professionals capable of applying evidence-informed care within a broad range of clinical situations.
At JPS, we have a strong commitment to caring for our neighbors, and we believe there is no substitute for the positive impact of excellent psychological care. The JPS patient population is among the most clinically diverse found in any internship training setting in the nation and serving this population appropriately requires flexibility and skill. We view the education of compassionate, thoughtful, skilled clinicians as critical to the provision of high-quality services within our community now and in the future. Through our dedication to clinical excellence, evidence-based practice, and your individual educational program, our aim is to provide you with the solid foundation you will need to launch a successful career as a practicing psychologist.
| 2022-2023 Psychology Internship Training Manual | 2021-2022 Psychology Internship Training Manual |
The 2023-2024 internship training program aims to promote high levels of competence with interns who can provide:
- Accurate assessments and insightful case formulations: Our interns are exposed to the kinds of clinical situations that hone and sharpen a broad range of technical assessment skills -- including effective interviewing , differential diagnosis, and administration / scoring / interpretation of a broad range of assessment tools. However, beyond these technical skills, the goal of this primary training experience is to support the development of case formulations that represent a deep and meaningful understanding of those whom we serve.
- Effective interventions: Our interns are trained in a variety of short- and longer-term evidence-based interventions aimed at assisting clients with a broad range of psychological issues, including mood, anxiety, psychological trauma, and somatoform disorders. They work with patients of varied ages, races, ethnicities, religions, gender identities, sexual orientations, and SES levels. Intervention outcomes are monitored via intensive individual and group supervision and with validated outcome tools.
- Highly-valued consultations: Our interns are embedded directly in psychiatric and non-psychiatric care teams, working closely with physicians and other providers, nurses, social workers, and other health professionals. They provide a variety of services to those interdisciplinary medical teams responsible for diagnostic and treatment decision-making.
Training sites include the following:
- Inpatient acute and longer-term inpatient psychiatric units: JPS houses one of the largest inpatient psychiatric services in Texas, including a 100-bed acute psychiatric hospital and another 40-bed facility for patients who require extended inpatient psychiatric care. Within the acute care hospital, 84 beds are reserved for adult patients (ages 18 and older) while the other 16 beds are dedicated to acute crisis inpatient treatment for adolescents (ages 13-17). Our inpatient units run at 98%+ capacity at all times, serving over 5,000 patients per year. Psychology interns on inpatient psychiatric units provide assessment services, treatment recommendations and brief therapeutic interventions.
- Psychiatric Emergency Center: The Psychiatric Emergency Center (PEC) is one of the largest dedicated psychiatric emergency services in the country. With an average of over 20,000 patient visits a year, those individuals presenting to the PEC are often experiencing an acute mental health crisis-frequently involving psychosis, mania, suicidal ideation, behaviors, or other significant psychiatric events. In this high-acuity setting, psychology interns work directly with the multidisciplinary PEC team to triage, evaluate, and assess patients’ immediate needs and determine the nature of follow-up care needed.
- Consult-Liaison Services: Our health services psychology team also works on the medical floors of JPS's 564 bed inpatient medical service, providing behavioral health consultations and other supportive services on behalf of the multi-disciplinary specialty teams who care for medically-ill inpatients. Psychology interns learn to provide capacity evaluations, substance- and acute stress-related assessment and interventions, and a wide variety of other patient management interventions across trauma and medical specialty service inpatient units, ICUs, and the medical emergency department.
- Outpatient Behavioral Health Clinics: JPS outpatient Behavioral Health Services provide care during over 40,000 outpatient medication management, psychotherapy, and psychological assessment patient encounters annually. In addition, five intensive day treatment programs offer both 5-day and 3-day / week are available as "Partial Hospital" and "Intensive Outpatient” programs, respectively." These programs are designed as short term, structured, group- and individual care programs for individuals transitioning out of inpatient care and back into the community or for community-based JPS patients who require higher levels of care beyond usual outpatient management protocols. In the outpatient clinics, psychology interns provide direct patient care within a busy outpatient neuropsychological / psychological assessment service, a robust outpatient psychotherapy service and as a participating team member in day treatment programs.
Didactics and Seminars
A broad range of educational opportunities are available over the course of the training year. All interns participate in a variety of focused didactic experiences that include presentations and discussions on all American Psychological Association Profession Wide Competencies, including evidence-based interventions; evidence-based assessment; ethical and legal standards; individual and cultural diversity; research; professional values and attitudes; communication and interpersonal skills; consultation/interprofessional/interdisciplinary consultation; supervision; and reflective practice. In addition, they attend bi-weekly psychiatry Grand Rounds, and monthly Behavioral Health Journal Club and Case Conference discussions. Other specialized seminars or conferences are made available on an individual basis as relevant to each intern's long-range goals.
Positions Available
Two interns are accepted to the JPS internship training program each year. Interns are considered full-time, salaried JPS Health Network employees. The 2023-2024 compensation package includes a salary of $34,500 as well as the opportunity to purchase health, vision and dental insurance. Interns accrue up to four weeks of vacation / sick leave to use as they wish throughout the year, awarded incrementally with each pay period. Individuals from underrepresented groups are strongly encouraged to apply. The 2023-2024 internship year will run from August 14, 2023 through August 16, 2024.
Pre-Internship Requirements
As stated by APPIC, internship training is at post-clerkship, post-practicum, and post-externship level and precedes the granting of the doctoral degree. Successful applicants to our program must have completed adequate and appropriate prerequisite training prior to the internship as stipulated by their graduate programs. Specific applicant requirements are as follow:
- The applicant is enrolled in an American or Canadian Clinical, Clinical Health, or Counseling Psychology doctoral program which is eligible for the Match and/or Post-Match Vacancy Service of APPIC.
- The applicant has completed at least three years of graduate academic coursework, including graduate-level coursework in personality theory, psychopathology/diagnosis, psychotherapy, psychological assessment, multicultural psychology, and professional ethics.
- The applicant has also completed closely supervised practica (experiential training) in psychotherapy and psychological testing.
- The applicant's dissertation committee has approved a dissertation proposal prior to the start of internship in August of 2023. Please note that because internship is a busy year, there is no protected time during the internship for dissertation completion. Our recommendation is that our interns plan to have completed data collection and data analyses prior to arrival for internship if at all possible.
Living in Fort Worth
An excellent overview of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex and the Fort Worth "lifestyle" can be found here.
Overview of Application Process
The JPS Health Network Internship in Clinical Psychology is a member of APPIC (the Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers) and participates in the APPIC Match to fill our internship positions. All who are interested in applying to the JPS internship much register for the APPIC Match and then submit an application and supplemental materials (see below).
Internship offers will be coordinated through the APPIC Internship Matching Program. This internship site agrees to abide by the APPIC policy that no person at this training facility will solicit, accept, or use any ranking-related information from any intern applicant. This program will follow all policies and procedures as posted at www.appic.org. Those interested in participating in the APPIC Match for psychology internship programs may register for the match via National Matching Services
Applicants must be U.S. citizens pursuing a doctoral degree in psychology. They are considered for positions without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender identity, national origin, sexual preference, age, marital status, parenting status, disability, or other legally protected status. JPS Health Network, Acclaim Physician Group, and the Division of Psychology are committed to providing a safe and welcoming training atmosphere to all
Please note that although we are a member of and accredited by APPIC, our internship is not yet accredited by the American Psychological Association. We will be applying for APA accreditation during the 2022-2023 academic year.
| APPIC Applicant Agreement |
Application deadline: Monday, December 5, 2022 at 11:59 p.m. CST.
In order to be considered as a candidate to our program, all applicants must submit the following before the application deadline:
- AAPI Online Application, found at www.appic.org
- A cover letter describing your training goals and how the JPS Health Network internship program will help you meet those goals.
- Three (3) letters of recommendation
- An up-to-date curriculum vitae (CV)
- Graduate transcripts
- Verification of readiness for internship from the Director of Clinical Training (via the DCT Portal) at the applicant's home training institution.
- The Following Supplemental Materials:
- One full psychological test report on an adult patient (18 or older) completed by the applicant
- One sample of other clinical work in the form of a discharge summary or a case report from a psychotherapy case.
Interviews
Invitations for interviews will be made on or before December 16, 2022. Only candidates who submit a complete set of application materials will be considered for an interview. Candidate interviews will be held on Tuesdays and Fridays in January 2023, specifically: 1/10, 1/13, 1/17, and 1/20. We will be conducting interviews via web meeting technology for the 2023-2024 recruitment year. During interview days, we will provide an overview of the program, time for interviews with faculty and current interns, and opportunities to ask questions. More information will be sent to candidates with the invitation to interview.
Selection Process
All applications will be screened for interviewing by the Training Director and Assistant Training Director, with the assistance of clinical faculty. Those applicants who meet requirements for interviewing will have been reviewed by at least two clinical faculty members as well as the Training Director and Assistant Training Director as we consider coursework, letters of recommendation, practicum preparation, areas of clinical interest, internship goals and career plans, and fit with our program. Once interviewed, the Training Director and Assistant Training Director will gather feedback from interviewing faculty and compile final rankings for the Match.
Post-Match Considerations
Closer to the start date of the Internship, all applicants who match with the JPS internship will be required to undergo additional screening procedures. These include a background check conducted by the JPS Human Resources department which identifies all past criminal convictions. Felony charges/activity noted on the background check, occurring prior to or during the course of the program, could affect the candidate's eligibility for employment as an intern. A 10-panel drug screen is also collected by JPS Occupational Health in accordance with customary JPS policy. If the 10-panel drug screen returns a positive result to any of its components, matched candidates will not be allowed to start internship. In other words, offer of internship could be rescinded if either the background check or 10-panel drug screen returns positive results. Marijuana is still illegal in Texas, so drug screening includes testing for marijuana or related substances (CBD oil with trace amounts has potential for returning positive results). At this time, prescriptions for medical marijuana are not considered a "pass" on the drug screen. Applicants should be cautioned to consider their potential for failure on these screens to help inform their decision to apply to this Internship. Finally, JPS follows CDC policy in terms of COVID vaccines and interns will be asked to furnish documentation of vaccination or fill out a request to forego this vaccination at the time of drug screen.
Please direct any additional inquires to:
Assistant Training Director
Division of Psychology, JPS Health Network
1617 Hemphill Street
Fort Worth, TX 76104
BDuncan03@jpshealth.org
817-702-8728